A ray of morning sunlight streamed in, and Shen Ju rolled over, blinking his sleepy, gritty eyes.
His eyelids felt uncomfortable.
Like he’d been crying—sore and puffy…
Wait, crying?!
Shen Ju snapped fully awake, his eyes flying wide open.
Memories of last night’s drunken escapades swarmed into his mind…
Shoving at Pei Yan’s collar, demanding he use his little nickname.
Pei Yan lifting his chin, asking what that nickname was.
All the way from the bar to the hotel in the elevator, stubbornly insisting Pei Yan call him by it.
Once in the room, making Pei Yan take off his puffer jacket, snatching Pei Yan’s water to drink, then bursting into tears in Pei Yan’s arms, begging him not to hate him… before being carried back to the room like a child…
Ahhhh!
Shen Ju flipped over, shrinking his head back into the covers like a little turtle.
He had no face left to show anyone!
996 ended its sulk and, seeing Shen Ju awake, rubbed its little tuft nervously before calling out somewhat guiltily: 【Host…】
【Um, are you feeling better?】
Shen Ju poked his head out from under the covers just a bit, clutching the edges with both hands: 【I’m fine, Brother 996.】
996 fell silent for a moment.
You’re saying it like that, and it only makes me feel worse!
On the other side.
Pei Yan was in the living room pouring himself water when he overheard Shen Ju’s response to the system. He couldn’t help but chuckle.
Even his attempts at comforting people were so clumsy.
It would only make others feel even more heartbroken.
Timing it just right, Pei Yan walked over and knocked on the door.
Shen Ju jolted upright under the covers at the sound.
“Are you awake?”
Pei Yan’s voice came from outside the door.
Shen Ju’s whole little face emerged, and he noticed a folded towel on the bedside table—probably what had been used to soothe his eyes yesterday.
No wonder his eyelids were just sore this morning, not swollen.
Shen Ju couldn’t help but stare in a daze.
He reached up to touch his eyelids.
“Still not awake?”
Pei Yan’s voice sounded again from outside.
Shen Ju finally snapped back: “Awake… Pei Ge, I’m awake…”
“Then can I come in?”
“Huh?”
Shen Ju hadn’t expected that to be Pei Yan’s next line.
Before he could react, Pei Yan turned the handle and pushed the door open.
But Pei Yan only stood in the doorway, politely keeping his distance.
“How’s your body? Anywhere uncomfortable?”
As Pei Yan asked, he looked toward Shen Ju, seemingly assessing his condition.
In truth, he was taking in how Shen Ju was sprawled on the bed like a little turtle, his hair a messy bird’s nest, eyes still dazed, cheeks flushed from sleep, looking utterly out of it.
Pei Yan leaned against the doorframe, lifting the glass in his hand: “Thirsty?”
Shen Ju’s gaze drifted down to the cup in Pei Yan’s hand… identical to the one he’d snatched last night.
His face flushed even deeper.
Pei Ge doesn’t mean anything by it, right…
996 popped up, its tone tentative: 【Host, still doing tasks?】
Shen Ju shook himself alert: 【Yeah, Brother 996.】
The tasks had come this far—he couldn’t quit now.
Maybe after they ended, he’d have a chance to explain…
Either way, he had to finish them first and fill up the Task Energy Bar!
【Actually, last night’s task went pretty smoothly…】
996 let out a relieved breath: 【Great, keep it up and grind that persona with Pei Yan!】
【Got it.】
After finishing with 996, Shen Ju cleared his throat.
He sat up a little from the bed: “I want some water, but, uh, I’m not feeling great…”
Pei Yan raised a brow and walked over with the glass: “Where?”
“My eyes,” Shen Ju blurted.
Then he realized sore eyes didn’t stop him from getting up, so he quickly added: “My legs are sore too.”
“Probably from all the skiing yesterday.”
Pei Yan sat on the edge of Shen Ju’s bed. Today he wore a deep camel turtleneck sweater with linen straight-leg trousers, giving him a warmer, more refined air—elegant and aristocratic.
“I should’ve massaged them for you yesterday.”
As he spoke, Pei Yan held the glass to Shen Ju’s lips.
While Shen Ju instinctively reached out to take it and drink, Pei Yan added casually: “Too bad you were asleep—massaging you then would’ve been taking advantage.”
“Pfft! Cough cough…”
Shen Ju nearly choked on his water.
It was me trying to take advantage of Pei Ge!
Pei Ge’s so pitiful—he has no idea what I was after, and he’s still taking care of me.
“Drink slower.”
Pei Yan patted Shen Ju’s back: “Not enough? I’ll get more.”
Shen Ju gulped it down and shook his head at once: “No need, I’m good.”
He sat cross-legged and realized he was only wearing autumn thermal underwear.
Red ones…
He felt a rush of embarrassment and tugged the covers to cover up.
But the next instant, his face froze as it hit him: Pei Ge must’ve undressed him yesterday. If there was anything to see, it’d already been seen…
His red thermal underwear!
Shen Ju’s face was now as red as his clothes.
Pei Yan turned his head and exhaled, still unable to hold back a laugh.
He hadn’t expected this kid to be wearing that underneath when undressing him yesterday.
“Such a good baby…”
“What?”
Shen Ju hadn’t caught it—Pei Yan had said it low and mumbled.
But he saw the smile tugging at Pei Yan’s lips.
He couldn’t hold back: “Pei Ge, are you laughing at me?!”
“This… Mom made me wear it…”
“Oh, did Guan Mulin wear his?”
Shen Ju: “…”
No, Guan Mulin had flat-out refused.
On his birthday.
He’d found it among the gifts, and Qin Soxi had insisted he wear it when going out. He hadn’t had the heart to say no.
“I’m praising you,” Pei Yan said.
Shen Ju wrinkled his nose, clearly unconvinced.
“Then what did you just say, Pei Ge?”
Pei Yan arched a brow, reached over suddenly, and pinched Shen Ju’s cheek: “I said, Shen Chirp really is a good baby.”
“…”
Shen Ju’s face exploded red.
What’s going on…
Wasn’t I supposed to be seducing Pei Yan?
How come it feels like I’m the one being seduced…
Snap out of it!!
“Alright, not getting up yet?”
Pei Yan suddenly took back the empty glass and stood: “If you want me to keep taking care of you, you’ll have to pay up.”
“Plus, keep lazing and they might leave without you.”
Pei Yan added offhandedly: “Qichen let out for winter break early, but you can’t waste all your time playing. The new semester starts soon, and college entrance exams aren’t far off.”
“Make the most of these days to have fun.”
【Oh right! Tutoring!】
996 piped up: 【Host, keep tutoring at Pei Ge’s over break! Drag Pei Haochuan and Guan Mulin along too—it’s perfect! Stick to the Protagonist Gong and Shou for persona play, keep seducing Pei Ge, lay groundwork for their relationship, and boost your grades. Total win!】
【Mention it when you get the chance, Host!】
【Don’t let Pei Ge slip away!】
Pei Yan chuckled softly to himself.
“Tutoring?!”
Shen Ju seized the moment.
Han Chengfeng and the others had planned to move on to other spots after this, but Shen Ju said he needed to go back for tutoring, glancing at Pei Yan with puppy-dog eyes—the hint obvious.
“Pei Ge, do you have time…?”
Shen Ju figured he’d ridden Pei Haochuan’s coattails before. Bringing it up himself now, he wasn’t sure if Pei Yan would agree.
But his “persona” wasn’t one to read the room anyway—begging shamelessly for more tutoring fit right in. After asking, though, Shen Ju shyly dropped his gaze.
Sure enough, Pei Yan seemed to hesitate.
Shen Ju fiddled with his pant leg.
“I have time.”
Pei Yan said: “Pei Haochuan needs to keep it up anyway.”
Huh?
Shen Ju looked up. He hadn’t even mentioned Pei Haochuan and Guan Mulin yet—was this sleepiness delivering a pillow?
Meanwhile.
Pei Haochuan’s eyes bulged as he pointed at himself: “Me? I need more tutoring?!”
Wasn’t it done?!
Why keep going?!
Pei Yan lifted his gaze: “If you’re not sure, call your grandpa.”
“…”
Better not.
He’d get a resounding yes…
Pei Haochuan instinctively glanced at Guan Mulin.
Wanting to ask something…
Before, he’d have just blurted it out—what was there to hesitate?
But now…
For some reason, the words stuck in his throat.
Damn it!
Why can’t I say it!
It’s not like I just want Mulin to keep coming along?!
Pei Haochuan clenched his throat, steeling himself to force it out.
But Guan Mulin had already turned to Pei Yan…
“C-Can I keep coming too, P-Pei Ge?”
Guan Mulin hadn’t forgotten yesterday’s new plan with Shen Ju and the system—he needed to stick close and watch.
Seeing Guan Mulin speak up first, Pei Haochuan clutched his chest, throat tightening more.
So Mulin really… thinks like I do?
【Whoa~ Told you the Protagonist Shou and Gong are making big progress! Haha!】
【Host, look at Pei Haochuan’s face—he can’t stop staring at Guan Mulin~~ Heh heh.】
Guan Mulin: “…”
He instinctively turned to look.
The next second, Pei Haochuan whipped his head away like he’d been shocked.
“…”
Neurotic…
Hope he doesn’t snap his neck.
Too late for regrets—Pei Yan had already nodded.
Guan Mulin thought, What a sin.
Meanwhile.
Ke Sheng and Han Chengfeng exchanged another glance.
They’d noticed it: starting yesterday, they were being sidelined!
What, excluding us?!
No way!
Can’t let them win!!
So Ke Sheng and Han Chengfeng both shot up their hands.
Pei Yan suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Uh…”
Han Chengfeng grinned shamelessly: “Pei Ge, tutoring one is tutoring.”
Ke Sheng grinned too: “Two is tutoring too.”
“We all came out together.”
“My family’s right in Yujinfu…”
Ke Sheng glanced at Han Chengfeng and cut in: “Cough, my family’s not in Yujinfu, but I can crash at Han Chengfeng’s.”
“I—hey…”
Ke Sheng pinched Han Chengfeng hard under the table: Shut up if you wanna fit in!
Han Chengfeng: “…”
They turned to Pei Yan together: “So…”
“Pei Ge! God Pei! Take us in too!”
“We wanna improve too!”
Pei Yan: “…”
996 chimed in: 【Whoa, you could open a tutoring class~】
Shen Ju: 【Should they pay tuition then?】
Pei Yan nearly laughed in exasperation.
Fine.
Shall I collect it all back from you, baby?
Who am I even doing this for?
That soon?!
But Shen Ju agreed first.
Guan Mulin and Pei Haochuan had no objections.
Ke Sheng and Han Chengfeng… swallowed their pride and nodded.
Tutoring it is!
We’re in the group!!
Word spread in their class—plenty of classmates were vacationing here too. Hearing these guys were leaving after two days sparked a mini uproar…
Especially since they were heading to God Pei for tutoring!
Everyone had tracked Shen Ju and Pei Haochuan’s grades before—that progress was insane. Now Han Chengfeng and Ke Sheng were joining?!
That competitive?!
Winter break and still grinding?!
Take us too!!!
Back when they first spotted Pei Yan joining the fun, they’d all wanted to strike up a conversation with him, but they never found the right opportunity.
Pei Yan just seemed genuinely unapproachable, standing tall with no “keep away, strangers” sign on his face. He even looked mild-mannered when talking to people. But whenever they tried to make a move, it felt like his gaze swept over them, freezing them in place. So up until now, no one had managed to successfully chat him up. They could only stamp their feet in regret.
Now, seeing God Pei suddenly start an “after-school tutoring class” and spam the class group about it…
No one knew the real reason.
It couldn’t be because they offered too little, right?
They could offer money too.
Nah, that definitely wasn’t it.
So… was it because of a certain someone?
[I have a feeling that’s super likely… Think about it, God Pei even joined the Ant Market last time.]
[No way, isn’t it because of Big Bro Pei… I mean Pei Haochuan… Our Big Bro Pei is God Pei’s nephew. Tutoring his nephew makes total sense, and helping out his friends along the way.]
[Don’t you guys know? God Pei came to play this time and didn’t even stay with his nephew.]
[Then who did he stay with?]
[The class president’s little brother… Oh yeah, I just remembered—last time at the Ant Market, God Pei hung out at his stall for a super long time…]
[Holy crap, did we just uncover something huge?!]
[Cough, heads up—class president and Big Bro Pei are still in the group.]
The Elite Class group chat went dead silent.
Someone even tried to cover it up by spamming a bunch of emojis.
Guan Mulin had watched the whole drama unfold from start to finish.
He couldn’t help but feel deeply worried…
Pei Yan toward Shen Ju?
For real?!
But thinking back on some of Pei Yan’s actions, yeah, a few behaviors did seem to go beyond the norm.
Could it really be because of Shen Ju?!
Guan Mulin drew in a sharp breath. No way…
Regardless, he’d already made up his mind to keep an even closer eye on Shen Ju.
If it was really like he suspected, then Shen Ju still had tasks to do—wouldn’t that be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den?
That was downright terrifying!
So after they all got back, during the tutoring sessions, Guan Mulin started observing sneakily.
He noticed Pei Yan had even hired a private chef.
They could order whatever they wanted.
Lunch and dinner could be handled right there—more thoughtful and thorough than the previous sessions.
As a result… they ended up staying longer and longer.
And…
“I’ve got to prep for the annual company party these next few days, so I might be a bit busy.”
Pei Yan said this mainly to Shen Ju. “If there’s anything you need to ask me, can it wait until later? Once I clear it up for you in the evening, I can personally walk you back next door.”
Guan Mulin didn’t need tutoring from him and stuck to his usual role of “handling” Pei Haochuan.
As for Ke Sheng and Han Chengfeng, their foundations were too weak.
It was easier to give them simpler problems, and Han Chengfeng lived in Yujinfu too, but not super close, so they usually wrapped them up first.
That left Shen Ju for last.
A perfectly reasonable excuse.
And Shen Ju couldn’t refuse Pei Yan anyway.
Meaning Shen Ju always stayed until the end.
Like today.
Ke Sheng and Han Chengfeng had already left—they’d gotten a real taste of tutoring hell and wished they’d never joined the group.
They bolted first every time, not wasting a single second.
Pei Haochuan was still crashing at Pei Yan’s place, but once he finished his work, he rarely hung around the study. He’d either head back to his own room or go play with Han Chengfeng and the others.
As for Guan Mulin…
Right now, Guan Mulin really wanted to stick around, dawdling and dragging his feet.
Pei Haochuan glanced at him, hesitating. “Mulin, do you have something to say to me?”
996: [Whoa~~ Hehe, oh dark~]
It was admiring the Task Energy Bar right now. Beautiful.
It had been filling up way too smoothly lately~~
Guan Mulin: “……No.”
“For real?”
Pei Haochuan cleared his throat lightly. “If you do have something to say, we can go somewhere else.”
Guan Mulin: ……What would I even have to say to you?!
He glanced at Shen Ju, who was obediently working on problems.
Then at Pei Yan, who was also focused on his documents.
Everything seemed normal.
Maybe he was overthinking it?
Even if something went down, it’d be Shen Chirp stirring it up—and he never managed anything serious anyway. So, probably, maybe, likely nothing to worry about?
Guan Mulin walked over and knocked on Shen Ju’s desk.
“Want me to wait for you?”
Shen Ju looked up. “Who asked you to wait? You think I’m too slow at these?!”
Guan Mulin nodded. “Yeah. If I wasn’t worried Mom would ask why we didn’t come back together, I wouldn’t even bother asking.”
Shen Ju couldn’t help but pout.
“But you’re staying late to help the others, so I’ll explain it clearly to Mom when we get back.”
Guan Mulin switched tacks and reached out to ruffle Shen Ju’s hair hard.
“Hey!”
Shen Ju itched to claw at him, but Guan Mulin had already pulled his hand back.
“Alright, I’m heading out.”
“Go, go, go.”
Guan Mulin took another look around—seemed fine—and nodded before leaving.
Otherwise, sticking around longer might give him away.
He had no excuse to stay anyway.
Once Guan Mulin was gone, Pei Haochuan frowned at Shen Ju.
Shen Ju: “?”
What?
Then Pei Haochuan left with a straight face.
Like he’d hit another unsolvable puzzle.
Shen Ju didn’t pay it any mind.
The Task Energy Bar kept climbing steadily anyway—almost past halfway. He checked it every day and felt great.
All that effort wasn’t for nothing.
It was the biggest comfort.
He glanced around and realized the study only had him and Pei Yan left.
996 popped up excitedly: [Host, golden opportunity! ]
[No alone time with Pei Yan the past few days, but today you get it! Don’t miss this chance!]
[Haha, heaven’s really helping us out~]
![My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration]](https://i1.wp.com/dobynovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/transmi.jpeg?resize=151,215 "My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration]")
